From the President: Reflections on 2008

From PBH President and CEO Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D.   

Throughout 2008 PBH reached Moms across the country with the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® message. Our retailer and supplier members are showing their support on signage, product packaging, and online via their consumer websites and blogs. The PBH communications team is reaching out to consumer newspapers, TV, and radio news outlets more than ever before to get out the word about Fruits & Veggies—More Matters.
The message is reaching Moms in supermarkets with 75 percent of all supermarkets signed on as retail members and the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo on over 1,200 brand name and private-label product packages. 

The message is reaching Moms online with over 50,000 visits to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters consumer website per month. While there, more and more visitors are signing up to receive the Keeping Moms Informed bi-weekly e-newsletter. Bloggers are talking about Fruits & Veggies—More Matters too, with mentions on over 360 blogs so far this year. Relationships with bloggers continue to be cultivated and select blogs are monitored with Fruits & Veggies—More Matters themed comments made when deemed appropriate.  Links to www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org are increasing all the time. The number of links has increased by almost 15 percent from this time last year.

Moms are reading about Fruits & Veggies—More Matters in the news as media impressions continue to grow for the year, with over 32 million tallied up so far. New media contacts from newspapers, magazines, radio and television news, and health, parenting, and food blogs are being added weekly, expanding the reach of the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters message. Twenty two consumer press releases have been distributed so far this year, with more on the way, and other communication efforts continue through PSAs, e-newsletters, websites, and blogs.  

The new Video Center, now up and running, provides another pipeline for the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters message to flow to Moms. Retailers, growers, shippers, processors, and commodity boards shouldn’t miss this opportunity to showcase their wares to a targeted audience of interested consumers.

I encourage all of you to support the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters brand; more support, YOUR support, really does matter. Make sure all your retail signage and product logos have made the transition to Fruits & Veggies—More Matters from the old 5 A Day logo. If you haven’t already done so, put a link to www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org on your company’s website and mention it in company blogs. Customize and pass along Fruits & Veggies—More Matters press release templates to local media outlets. With your help we can make the next year even more successful.

Now Showing: Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Video Center

The new Video Center area of www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org is up and running! Video content will educate consumers about fruits and vegetables, teach them about selection and proper storage methods, demonstrate recipe preparation, and convey a lot of other fun, useful information that encourages the consumption of more fruits and vegetables. Two hundred seventy five videos are available for viewing now, with more to be added later.

Featuring produce celebrity Michael Marks, Your Produce Man, these short informational videos are now available for sponsorship. This exciting new online content offers new value for consumer visitors and marketing opportunities for interested PBH donors. To enhance their visibility, these videos will be promoted regularly on the website home page and in PBH’s biweekly e-newsletter to consumer subscribers. The new Video Center is designed to attract more visitors and keep them on the site longer, to ensure the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters message reaches an even wider audience.

The Video Center was created in response to requests from Moms visiting the website. Retailers, growers, shippers, processors, and commodity boards shouldn’t miss this opportunity to showcase their wares to a targeted audience of interested consumers. For more information on sponsoring a Video Center segment, contact PBH Manager of Development Theresa Kaufmann.

Retailer Support for Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Increases

Retailers have been a huge part of the success of the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters brand, starting back with the public unveiling at grocery stores on both coasts in March 2007.

Over 60 retail chains are current Fruits & Veggies—More Matters licensees, putting the power of over 26,000 stores behind the brand’s inspirational message. Many retailers feature the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo on a variety of fresh produce items, and over 400 private label frozen, canned, dried, and 100 percent juice products also carry the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo. Just counting the first three quarters of 2008, retail members have delivered about 2 billion consumer impressions in their weekly advertising alone. This figure does not include brochures, newsletters, point-of-sale materials, or other forms of consumer communication, and there’s more to come as the fourth quarter impressions are tallied! Also, about half of all retail members have a link from their websites to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters consumer website.

Our thanks go out to all PBH’s retail partners who are embracing the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters initiative in their messaging! The variety and scope of retail involvement has helped spread the word that eating more fruits and vegetables really does matter.

Retailers can continue to engage customers with Fruits & Veggies—More Matters in many ways:

• Use the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo in advertisements; see the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters retail toolkit for ad slicks and messaging.
• Link your company’s website to www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. 
• Remind your customers through ads that “all forms count.”
• Include Fruits & Veggies—More Matters messages in your in-store radio programming.
• Use consumer columns, newsletters, or your company magazines to promote Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Month – to consumers and employees.
• Make sure all of your point-of-sale materials and supplies now bear the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo.
• Check out the PBH educational catalog for posters, brochures, and other consumer-friendly materials.

For more retailer materials and suggestions, contact Senior Executive of Retail Marketing Bryant Wynes. For web copy and graphics or more information about including the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo on private label products, contact PBH Licensing and Partnership Manager Kathleen Ruf.

5 A Day Logo Phase Out Update

December is the final month to use the 5 A Day The Color Way logo and the 5 to 9 A Day logo. In March 2007 PBH and CDC publicly launched Fruits & Veggies—More Matters, replacing the old 5 A Day campaign. Over the past 2 years, PBH has been encouraging donors to transition their packaging and marketing materials to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo.

After January 1, 2009, use of all versions of the 5 A Day logo will no longer be permitted. For more information, view PBH’s press statement or contact PBH Licensing & Partnership Manager Kathleen Ruf.

Looking for Some Fun, Educational Gift Ideas?

Surf over to www.pbhcatalog.com for some inexpensive, high-quality items that would make great stocking stuffers, gift exchange presents, or presents for all of the young children and teachers on your list. The Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® pencils, Fruit and Vegetable Plush Seedie Characters, Canvas Bag with Play Veggies, and the Fruit and Veggie Memory Game are all fun ways to remind kids to eat more delicious fruits and vegetables.

Shop the End of Year Super Sale and receive a 20 percent discount on selected items! The sale ends December 23, 2008, so shop today! 

2009 Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available

Several PBH sponsorship opportunities are still available for 2009, including: the new Video Center on www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org; the new Fruit & Veggie of the Month press release; Consumer Columns and a Family Features matte release (back by popular demand); spring board meeting sponsorships; 2009’s Celebration of Life Dinner-Auction-Dance; PBH Direct!; our retail newsletter, Retail Matters; and more!  Don’t miss a single opportunity to put your marketing dollars to good use! For more information, contact PBH's Manager of Development Theresa Kaufmann.

Make Plans Now for PBH’s Spring Board Meeting

Be sure to mark your 2009 calendars for PBH’s annual Board of Trustees and spring committee meetings, April 2-4, 2009.  The event will once again be held at the beautiful bayside Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. For more information on the meeting and events, contact PBH Executive Assistant Sharese Alston.

Sponsorship opportunities are now available for this meeting! Sponsors will be recognized in board meeting publications and on-site signage. If you would like to be a sponsor, contact PBH Manager of Development Theresa Kaufmann.

Celebration of Life Reservations Available, Auction Items Needed

The 2009 Celebration of Life Dinner-Auction-Dance in Monterey, Calif., April 4, 2009, is rapidly selling out, but reservations are still available. Coinciding with PBH’s annual board and spring committee meetings, this entertaining evening begins with a cocktail reception, followed by a silent auction, and a gourmet dinner, capped off by the live auction and dancing. Reservations are $360 each or $3,300 for a table of 10, but space is limited so make reservations now! Online registration is also available.

Auction items are still needed for live and silent auctions! Increase company or product visibility and support a great cause at the same time by donating an item. Can’t think of the perfect auction item? Send in a cash donation and the Dinner Auction committee will do the shopping! An extra $100, $200, or more can be transformed into a spectacularly thoughtful item with your company listed as the contributor. For more information about donating items or to reserve your seat, contact PBH Licensing & Partnership Manager Kathleen Ruf.

Thank You and Happy Holidays

As 2008 draws to a close, Produce for Better Health Foundation reflects on the past year and looks forward to exciting times ahead. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those making annual contributions in support of our everyday efforts to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. PBH would also like to thank everyone for their ongoing support in helping disseminate the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters message by adding the brand message to product packaging and POS signs, using the logo on advertising, forwarding Fruits & Veggies—More Matters press releases to local media outlets, and linking their company websites to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters consumer website.

Thank you for helping to make eating more fruits and vegetables a priority in the minds of Moms. Your continued support remains crucial to our success, to the health of Americans, and to the health of the fruit and vegetable industry. Together we will make the healthy choice of fruits and vegetables the easy choice! 

Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season and all the best for a bountiful New Year!

IFAVA Newsletter: Fruit & Veggie Consumption of Migrant Workers

This month, the International Fruit and Vegetable Alliance’s (IFAVA) latest scientific newsletter looks at fruit and vegetable consumption among migrant workers. Specifically, articles discuss the differences in diet among low-income, foreign born, and U.S. born women, determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among Sub-Saharan African migrants in Australia, and the diet quality of North African migrants in France. For more information, visit IFAVA or contact PBH’s Marketing and Communications Assistant Jill LeBrasseur.

Donor Recognition & New Member Welcome: Your Support Matters!

PBH is pleased to recognize the following companies as leaders in the produce industry and thanks them for their support. Their generous contributions help make possible PBH’s many activities to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. PBH thanks all current and new members who contributed to the foundation from Oct. 24, 2008 through Nov. 28, 2008. Together we can make a difference in the nation’s fruit and vegetable consumption. To find out how you can support PBH, and grow your business in the process, contact PBH Manager of Development Theresa Kaufmann.

Since 1996, Apio, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Landec Corporation based in Menlo Park, California, has been the leading producer of technology driven products and services within the fresh-cut vegetable industry. Apio markets a complete line of bagged vegetables and party trays for club and retail stores under the Eat Smart® brand featuring Breatheway® membrane technology. Breatheway regulates oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer within the package and can automatically adjust to temperature fluctuations along the supply chain. For retailers, this means extended shelf life and reduced shrink. For the consumer, it means a superior eating experience. Eat Smart provides a comprehensive array of healthy and convenient selections tailored to the unique needs of get-togethers with friends and family. From snacking to hosting a tailgate or large family holiday, Eat Smart vegetables are an easy way to add great tasting, fresh-cut solutions to any occasion.

For more information, visit www.apioinc.com.